OpenAI to reinstate Sam Altman as chief executive amid board overhaul

OpenAI’s co-founder Sam Altman has agreed to return as chief executive after a power struggle with the ChatGPT-maker’s board, less than five days after his dramatic sacking.

The company said it had reached an agreement in principle for Mr Altman to return as chief executive. 

As part of the deal, the board that staged a coup against Mr Altman on Friday night would be largely replaced, with a new set of directors including Larry Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary.

The news caps a frantic five days that has gripped Silicon Valley and seen hundreds of staff rebel, throwing into question the future of what is seen as one of the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence companies.

OpenAI’s board sacked Mr Altman and threw OpenAI chairman Greg Brockman off the board on Friday, saying Mr Altman had not been “consistently candid in his communications”. 

It replaced him with Emmett Shear as interim chief executive, while Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest investor, hired Mr Altman.

Anger at Mr Altman’s sacking led to the majority of staff threatening to quit, which prompted OpenAI to launch negotiations with its founder. 

Following the agreement, Mr Altman said on Wednesday morning: “I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. When I decided to join Microsoft on Sunday evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. With the new board and with Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft.”

Mr Brockman said he was also returning.

OpenAI said a new board would comprise former Twitter chairman and Salesforce co-chief executive Bret Taylor as chairman, Mr Summers and Adam D’Angelo, the only surviving member of the four directors who had ousted Mr Altman on Friday.

The company said: “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (chairman), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.

“We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.”

Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, said: “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. 

“Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OpenAI leadership team in ensuring OpenAI continues to thrive and build on its mission. We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.”

Mr Shear, whose stint as interim chief executive has lasted less than three days, wrote: “I am deeply pleased by this result, after ~72 very intense hours of work. Coming into OpenAI, I wasn’t sure what the right path would be. 

“This was the pathway that maximised safety alongside doing right by all stakeholders involved. I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.”

Mr Altman’s original sacking was believed to be a result of disagreements between the chief executive, who had sent OpenAI down an increasingly commercial path by striking deals with companies such as Microsoft, and a faction led by chief scientist Ilya Sustskever, who had grown increasingly concerned about AI safety risks.

Mr Sutskever said on Monday that he deeply regretted his participation in the coup. On Wednesday morning he retweeted Mr Altman’s message about his return but it is unclear if he has retained his board seat.

Helen Toner, one of the board members who had pushed Mr Altman out, tweeted: “And now, we all get some sleep.”